Ian promoted to Senior Engineer

Ian was dubbed as Web Applications’ Next Top Model in his profile last year. Despite featuring on our recruitment banners, his title was challenged by another Webbie who narrowly beat him to the award at last year’s Christmas party. Nevertheless, Ian became triumphant when he was voted employee of the year, winning the Pride of Web Apps award that sits proudly on his desk.

His success continued into 2013, when Ian was promoted to the position of Senior Engineer, something he has always aimed to be. His role will still mainly revolve around development but he will now also oversee a team of six developers. He thrives off passing his knowledge onto others, guiding and assisting where needed.

During his time Ian has also become involved with a variety of projects and tasks. He is the brains behind both the Web Applications UK and The Centre of Excellence websites. Designing and building them in his spare time, Ian created two sleek, stylish and responsive websites for the world to see. As part of this, Ian recently built the Client Access Area on the website, allowing our customers to view their cases live.

Early in 2013, he successfully completed the Train the Trainer course meaning he is now qualified to deliver quality courses at our training facility The Centre of Excellence. Specialising in what he is good at, Ian will be leading the Microsoft Technology Associate Web Development course to members of the public.

Ian’s success here is clear, but where did it all begin?

Always knowing that he wanted to be a developer, Ian began coding at a very young age. Originally from South Africa, he moved to the UK in 2005 to continue his studies after high school. He attended a few different colleges, unsure of whether to complete A Levels or a B Tech but his focus has always been computing.

Before joining us, Ian worked at Nando’s but fortunately for us cooking chicken wasn’t his calling in life. Unsure as to whether to study at university, Ian discovered Web Applications UK online and decided that on-the-job training would be the perfect thing for him. He is definitely pleased with the decision he made, taking full advantage of PDT, lunchtime SQL and C# training sessions and learning from more experienced developers.

Believe it or not, Ian does get spare time and enjoys hiking and walking, particularly around the Lake District. Cycling is another interest of Ian’s but admittedly he has neglected it over recent times and is meaning to get back involved. Recently, most of his spare time is taken up by looking for a new house with his girlfriend Emma. Although Ian currently has two cats, he is more of a dog man. I’m not sure why though as when he was younger, he suffered a number of dog related near death experiences one being when a dog attacked him leaving him with one ear smaller than the other! Nevertheless he is still a dog lover and is hoping to get either a Husky, Labrador or Golden Retriever.

In his profile just over a year ago, when asked where he saw himself in five years’ time, he said he hoped to be a Senior Engineer at Web Applications UK. Mission accomplished!